Zombies with a Pulse
I know what you’re thinking…since when do zombies have a
pulse? What I mean is zombies have been getting a bit of a reboot over the past
couple of years. With the success of The Walking Dead, others began to see that
zombie tales weren’t solely for the horror market after all, it seems the
entire population is fascinated with these once human creatures…and why?
Because there’s still a lot of humanity, tragedy, and strength to their
stories. Zombie stories allow us to reevaluate our lives, and define what is
most important to us: our families, love, safety, clean water…pudding? (TWD
reference I pray everyone gets)
What I’m getting at is that anyone can relate to zombies.
Just imagine for a moment one of your loved ones had been bitten, would you
kill them without batting an eye? Could you? I think there is an internal
struggle between what needs to be done and what the heart wants. Many of us
would claim bravery and would do what had to be done, but when it comes down to
the wire how do you say goodbye? I believe some would even keep them as pets
because humans are sentimental. Think of all the trinkets you might keep around
your house because they hold a memory you treasure…memory and our desire to
hold onto it, and preserve is dangerous when it comes to zombies.
Today I want to highlight the ever shifting zombie genre.
Here are five zombies with a “pulse” in other words…they’ll make you care about
them.
- Most
recently we have Liv Moore from the CW’s adaptation of
the iZombie comic released by DC’s Vertigo imprint.
Whether you’ve read the comic or seen the show, or both, it’s difficult
not to feel for her. She had a family, a promising career, and now? She
eats brains to solve crimes and there isn’t much room for more in her
life. The show is entertaining and a lighter taste of the zombie genre, it
definitely shows Liv aka Gwen as a zombie trying to recreate some sort of
“normal.”
- Warm
Bodies brought us R. The zombie version of Romeo, not
very romantic, but oh so very comedic. R is a zombie that refuses to be a
zombie, he doesn’t enjoy it, he fights it with all he has, but the only
cure for this zombie virus is love. A zombie love story? What could have a
stronger pulse than that?
- Not
all zombie tales are comedic. In fact this one is quite sad. The film Contractedfollows Samantha,
the victim of poor choices. This film treats the zombie infection as an
STD. When Samantha is infected she begins to slowly show signs of decay.
Her suffering is great, and she eventually succumbs to the virus. The
amount of pity I felt for this zombie was like no other, I wanted her to
find a cure, I was rooting for her, but alas poor choices sometimes are
ones undoing.
- Another
tragic tale leads us to The Returned. Alex is
a former zombie, cured of his infliction by a magic potion or injection if
you will. People could retain their humanity as long they continued to
take their medicine, but when the drug they need is in short supply,
zombies begin to resurface. Alex is running out of time as his girlfriend
desperately hunts down the remaining doses. The ending of this film is
done with such loneliness and abandonment in mind. It’s one of the saddest
endings to a zombie film I’ve seen in a long time.
- The
final zombie is one of my own creation, Eve Brenner. Her story
is somewhere between quirky and tragic. I want you to feel for her, she’s
a zombie still desperately trying to lead a human life. It’s not easy, and
perhaps not even possible. If you pick up the Zombie Girl Saga you’ll
immediately feel something for Eve, she’s young, curious, and gets more
than she bargained for when she sets out on an adventure. I can’t tell you
how it all ends especially since book 3 and 4 aren’t even out yet ;) Guess
you’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.
I hope all my zombie sympathizers out there enjoyed reading
and will check out my Zombie Girl Saga. A zombie with a pulse is quite
tempting, you get sucked in by their desire to remain human, and Eve is that
strong character willing to do anything to regain her humanity, if she will
succeed has yet to be seen…
A.Giacomi is the author of the wildly
entertaining Eve Brenner: Zombie Girl Saga.
She is an educator, writer, and artist from Toronto, Canada.
She is a zombie enthusiast, a wife, and mother to one small human child.
For more on A.Giacomi visit her on
Twitter @thepoeticzombie
Facebook A.Giacomi
or her official Blog http://www.poeticzombie.com
* * * * *
The stench of rotting flesh is in the air! Welcome to the
Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2015, with 30+ of the best zombie authors spreading
the disease in the month of June.
Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or
teaser…and pick up some great swag as well!
Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as
interaction with them!
#SummerofZombie is the hashtag for Twitter, too!
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